Part 2 Summary

Krapp-at-the-desk restarts the tape and almost immediately stops it again. Krapp-on-tape has used the word viduity, and Krapp-at-the-desk doesn't remember what it means. He pulls out a dictionary, discovers that it means being a widow or widower or the black feathers of the vidua bird. Krapp-at-the-desk­ switches back on the tape. Krapp-on-tape refers to a memory of a beautiful young woman who repeatedly caught his eye but threatened to call the police when he tried to speak to her. Krapp-at-the-desk shuts the tape off, thinks for a moment, and then restarts it.

Krapp-on-tape remembers playing with a dog and a small black rubber ball. He refers to the year just past as mostly gloomy, and then he remembers a night when he had a vision of the meaning of his life. He says he plans to talk about it now to preserve it...